Comments on: Adventures in Gardening From a Landscaping Novice

By: Kate Arends

Kate Arends — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 23:21:08 +0000

In reply to Lauren Maxwell. Such good insight, thank you for sharing. ❤️

By: Lauren Maxwell

Lauren Maxwell — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 23:27:29 +0000

In reply to Lauren Maxwell. The birds, butterflies, and bees went wild, that is. ❤️

By: Lauren Maxwell

Lauren Maxwell — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 23:26:04 +0000

Plant your state’s natives and Mother Earth will thank you. I did it in the fall and the birds, butterflies, and bees haven’t wild. A tiny offering to make up for the wildlife havens that’ll constantly destroyed. Plus, natives take less work and water because they evolved to thrive here. ❤️

By: Kate Arends

Kate Arends — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 22:10:47 +0000

In reply to Lezlie Hanson. So glad you enjoyed the article, Lezlie! Thank you for taking the time to comment.

By: Lezlie Hanson

Lezlie Hanson — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 14:27:21 +0000

Great article – I wish I would have had this advice 20 years ago when we took on the same project – good gardens take time – good fall prep for spring and summer success. The advice on plants that fit into your garden and your lifestyle is perfect.

By: Kate Arends

Kate Arends — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 22:57:33 +0000

In reply to Carol Klein. Hi, Carol! Thanks for your kind comment. We're located in St. Paul, MN. We had one deer when they moved in but since that encounter, we haven't seen any others. We don’t have many rabbits, mainly just an abundance of squirrels and chipmunks. Thank you for sharing your plant recommendations! We'll take all the input we can get.

By: Kate Arends

Kate Arends — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 22:49:07 +0000

In reply to Karen. Thanks for sharing this, Karen! Sometimes it takes trial and error to get to the outcome you ultimately want (I have no doubt we'll encounter that along the way too!).

By: Kate Arends

Kate Arends — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 22:46:40 +0000

In reply to Melissa Dorn. Thank you, Melissa!

By: Kate Arends

Kate Arends — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 22:46:29 +0000

In reply to Mary McDonald. Thanks for your comment, Mary! It's so helpful to have the input and insights of someone with more gardening experience than I have.

By: Kate Arends

Kate Arends — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 22:44:04 +0000

In reply to Nancy Doty. Hi Nancy! I love the idea of planting vignettes and creating surprises around different corners...that sounds magical. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and share your insight—it is truly appreciated!

By: Kate Arends

Kate Arends — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 22:41:46 +0000

In reply to Kim Cumming. Oh thank you so much, Kim, for the kind words and the advice—this is all very helpful!

By: Kate Arends

Kate Arends — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 22:36:09 +0000

In reply to Allison Lewis. Thanks, Allison! And that's a really good point, thank you for the reminder.

By: Kate Arends

Kate Arends — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 22:32:58 +0000

In reply to Liz Goodall. "One bed at a time." SUCH a good principle for large gardening projects. I'm glad you've found the process that works best for you!

By: Kate Arends

Kate Arends — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 22:16:27 +0000

In reply to Courtney. Oh this is a great tip, Courtney, thank you for sharing! We'll keep it in mind.

By: Courtney

Courtney — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 01:38:35 +0000

Such hard work but so fulfilling. One tip is to order mulch from a landscaping company and get it dumped in a pile for you to spread. Usually cheaper and no plastic bags. If you can manage to do it in spring before everything grows in it makes it way easier.

By: Liz Goodall

Liz Goodall — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 08:20:36 +0000

We have moved to a property with just the same problem! What looked like a lovely woodland space turned out to be a very overgrown well designed garden. I too have been discovering attractive walls and a great structure. At first I was daunted by the size of the task but what worked best was setting myself a small area to reveal in a day’s work.. and the structure has emerged quite quickly. I am now starting to choose plants and using the same principle. One bed at a time.

By: Allison Lewis

Allison Lewis — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 15:32:17 +0000

What a beautiful spot! With your hard work, determination and foresight, it’s sure to be glorious! I would caution against planting in the summer though. Spring and fall are ideal.

By: Kim Cumming

Kim Cumming — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 15:16:59 +0000

In reply to Nancy Doty.

Wonderful writing, photos, and hard work.

Include your children in planning or give them their own area: Almost all academic subjects can be learned with gardening. You can enjoy watching them puzzle it out over time.

Fall planting for spring flowering bulbs, daffodils are usually good, deer resistant, dog and kid friendly, and can be moved easily if you want. Many different ways to plant them. Have fun !!!

Amazing garden area in such a short time with your intensive work.

By: Nancy Doty

Nancy Doty — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 14:26:13 +0000

Good morning, Kate:.
Thanks for sharing your experience with taking on this overgrown garden. It looks daunting but you will be so happy to see the personal investment (time & intensive labor) pay off.
Like your space, my garden has enough curves and different focal points that it doesn’t have to look like a cohesive, planned, formal garden. My joy comes from ‘vignettes’ that I plant as surprises around a corner or in an out-of-the- way space.
I create living bouquets from plants I love, adding more color, texture, and extending the interest with things that bloom before and after the initial vision of my vignette. Sometimes the space is small, maybe 3′ X 3′, as with my blue & yellow ‘Monet corner.’ Other areas, like my fern/ moss garden are a little larger and incorporate large rocks. I have a hummingbird garden that blooms 10 months of the year. Another polinator area has lots of blousy daisies, echinacea, globe thistle, herbs, etc.
In other words, create the vignettes in your artistic mind’s eye and focus on one area at a time.
Get the kids involved with a fragrance garden; plants with animal names; a pizza garden full of tomatoes and robust herbs; A-Z alphabet garden; textures, stripes & polkadots… They’ll be excited to have their own space and will be more willing to help as they get older.
Overall, I’d say small bites with a vision for the small spaces; slow & steady, and be fearless. You can always move/ remove things later.
Mostly, have fun!
Nancy Doty

By: Mary McDonald

Mary McDonald — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 14:18:13 +0000

Hi there!
Being home this Spring/Summer/Fall.. I finally had the time I have wanted just to get things into some sort of order in our yards also. We moved to this house in late Fall of 2018.
So, what I have learned is when I am working from the office… I need plants that can handle lengths of time between watering.. While annuals are fun for instant color… they are too much work.
This year with the time afforded me, I have been replanting areas with less fussy and better off season interest. That will hopefully make 2021 a more rewarding gardening year than 2019 was.. if I ever get back to the office.
Also, consider adding a drip irrigation system, makes watering MUCH easier. Ours hooks up to the faucet on a timer.

By: Melissa Dorn

Melissa Dorn — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 14:03:56 +0000

Very nicely framed article

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 12:07:42 +0000

Plan your garden around your lifestyle first : TRUTH! This year, during the shutdown, I planted a small veggie/herb garden. For about 3 weeks I made daily early-morning visits, tending and watering. And then…..I stopped going out there. Literally, I don’t think I’ve walked within 15′ of it in over two months. (But I can see the plants from my bathroom window, and they’re still there/green-ish!) And I had plans – BIG plans – for that area of the yard. I wanted to put in raised garden beds, create a pathway, leave some grass for the dogs…..but now that I understand my gardening style (plant it/leave it), I can plan for success. I won’t be planting seasonal veggies/herbs, instead I’ll plant more landscape-type plants. It will still be a fun project for me over the upcoming years, and I’m glad I learned this about myself before starting the project.

By: Carol Klein

Carol Klein — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 22:06:11 +0000

Hi, Kate! What a lovely property. (1) Where are you located (section of the country and planting zone)? (2) Do you have to worry about deer, rabbits, groundhogs, etc? (3) I highly recommend hostas–not deer resistant but do well in shade–and hellebores (but note my caution as they are poisonous)–deer resistant, low maintenance, shade loving. Hellebores are supposed to bloom February-April in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States but mine have bloomed again this fall. They also create little hellebores that you can plant in new places, so from one or two plants, you will soon have many. They are poisonous to animals and humans, so do wear gloves when working with them. Vinca is a wonderful ground cover with attractive foliage and blue flowers, but is mildly poisonous. Both plants would need to be planted where the children wouldn’t play or pick the flowers. So perhaps don’t plant these plants if your children are young. Well . . . that was helpful! 🙂